Football--the Official Sport of Fall

It's almost Thanksgiving, the day a lot of guys like to eat insane amounts of turkey and watch FOOTBALL! Of course the Iron Guy does too. (I guess that makes me the Gridiron Guy---ah hahahaha!!!) The season is halfway over and we in Charlotte have groaned all year, watching our beloved and frustrating Panthers lose some games that were going our way. Anyway, here are some good books about the pigskin sport:

How Football Works by Keltie Thomas

Here's one that I've written about before and it's still terrific. Chock-full of useful information, this book is a must-read for the the novice or the long-time fan. You can see my original  review here.here. Go ahead and take a look--not only does it tell you how terrific the book  is, but it lets you see how hopeful we Panthers fans at this time last year. Well, we had Cam Newton tearing up the gridirons in his impressive rookie year, so we had good reason. But this year---Oh, will we ever learn????


Long Arm Quarterback by Matt Christopher

Most reader guys know that the name "Matt Christopher" on a book guarantees a good read. Here's what I said in the original review:

 Long-Arm Quarterback by Matt Christopher. I hope you know about him already. He writes sports books and I haven't read one yet that I didn't like. Cap Wadell is frustrated because his little Texas town is so small that they can't get enough guys together to make a football team. His grandfather Tully remembers when he was in high school and played with six-person teams; in fact, there was a high school league made of six-person teams. Tully suggests that all the small towns in that area get together and make such a league. Cap's friends get excited at the idea and, before long, there's a league going. Tully agrees to coach Cap's team but there's a problem--Cap's friend Jimmy joins the team. That's not so bad, but Jimmy's grandfather Sable comes along to help coach. Sable used to play on Tully's league on a different team and was a good player. Tully won the championship that year and Sable is still mad about it after all these years. Will that old rivalry tear the team apart? Will Sable ever put his anger away and think about the good of the team? I had to read all the way to the end to find out!

NFC South by Michael Teitelbaum

This is a good one if you want some quick facts about the teams in the NFC South Division: the Atlanta Falcons, the Panthers, the New Orleans Saints or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The whole book took me only 15 minutes to read. There a short history of each team (only a page long) plus info on the Home Field, Big Days, Superstars (Then and Now), and Stat Leaders for each team. Interesting reading.

And here's a video to make you laugh. It's based on an old Andy Griffith routine called "What It Was Was Football" about a young hillbilly boy who sees his first football game. It'a about 7 minutes long, so make yourselves comfortable.

If I don't see you before then,  I hope you have a great Thanksgiving.

Michael Talks About the Latest Amulet and N.E.R.D.S!!

Taking a break from all my sports talk, the Iron Guy is pleased to present the latest reviews from our good friend Michael:

Amulet, book 5
Prince of the Elves
by Kazu Kibuishi
    I don't know about you, but after what Max did in The Last Council, I wasn't sure whose side he was on. This book reveals it all. Stonekeepers can use their amulets to travel back into their own memory, and when Trellis the elf prince decides to do so, things take a dangerous turn fast. I can't put much more without spoiling the book, but it's definitely worth reading. There aren't many fantasy series that I like, but this one is one of the few.

N.E.R.D.S., book 4
The Villain Virus
by Michael Buckley
    Something's going around, and it's not your average flu. People globally are suddenly overcome with thoughts of revenge against people who never wronged them, building doomsday devices, and wanting to take over the world to show everyone their supreme power! Sound like someone familiar? Those are just the things that Heathcliff Hodges, aka Agent Choppers, aka Screwball, aka Brainstorm would say. But how could he be infecting the whole world? After the fiasco in The Cheerleaders of Doom, Heathcliff is sleeping under sedation, and he hasn't woken up. But there must be some explanation for the virus that may destroy the world. This is a decline from the books before, and the climax is worse than some of the other action scenes, which aren't great. I must say, though, there are some unbelievably amazing twists at the end. I just hope it doesn't turn out to be a flop ending to the series.

Michael Lanier
Pianist, guitarist, banjoist, autoharpist, jaw harpist, Ukeist 

Wow, I sure hope the same thing! The N.E.R.D.S. series have always gotten good write-ups, especially from you and I'd hate to see them end with a flop. And I must admit that I've never read the Amulet series. What about you reader guys out there? Have YOU read them? Did you like them? Shoot us a review and let us know! And don't forget--you're doing all your fellow reader guys a service when you tell us about terrific books. After all, when you write in, other guys know they're not hearing from some boring old grownup (though the Iron Guy defies ANYONE who calls him boring!), you're hearing from a boy, just like you. That means those books will be--

Guy Tested--GUY APPROVED!

Batter Up! More Blasts From the Past

Hey, all you swinging dudes in blogland! (Baseball--bats--swinging----heh, heh, heh!!!!! Oh, me, how do I keep coming up with all those knee-slappers??!!??)  I told you I'd write a post soon about baseball fiction and here it is. Actually, this post is a Blast From the Past because I'm  recommending books that have been reviewed before. They were terrific then and they're still terrific now.

These books are about the early days of baseball. I just love reading about that period in the game because the stars were larger-than-life figures. They were more than heroes; they united the country by the great admiration and love people had for them. Baseball truly was the national pastime and everyone followed it. Here are some good reads about those days, with one contemporary story thrown in.

The first one is Bill Penant, Babe Ruth, and Me by Timothy Tocher. You can read the original review here but it's halfway down that page. I'll reprint the relevant part for yout:

It's the 1920 baseball season. Young Hank Cobb spent the last summer working for John McGraw, manager of the New York Giants. After the season, McGraw sent Hank off to Anson Academy so the boy could get an education, but Hank absolutely hates school and doesn't see why he needs to be there. His great dream is to be a ball player; he can learn all he needs on the ballfield. Imagine his joy, then, when McGraw calls him out of school to work for the Giants again. But then imagine his surprise when he finds out his new job will be taking care of Bill Penant, the team mascot. And Bill Penant is a baby wildcat--a real wildcat, totally untamed! But that's not all; he also discovers that he must also "take care" of the Yankees' new player, Babe Ruth, who is rather untamed himself. (The Giants and Yankees shared a ball park back then) Can Hank work for both the Giants and Yankees? And what happens when this baby wildcat grows up? And will Hank ever go back to school or stay in the ballpark all his life? Want to know? Then you have to get this book and find out!

I tell you, if you get this one, you'll enjoy it for sure. It's funny, funny, funny--especially with all the scenes of Hank and the wildcat! But then, just as you think it'll be all fun and games, something serious happens that changes Hank's whole life. He has to face up to his fears and decide his future. Is he a coward? Or does he have what it takes? All guys have to answer that question at some point. Read it and see how Hank gets his answer.

The next one is the contemporary story. It's the terrific book Mudville by Kurtis Scaletta, first reviewed on 3-12-09. Let me reprint some things I wrote about it.

 It's hard to believe that this is Mr. Scaletta's first book because it's so good. The basic idea is that these kids live in a town in which it has rained for 22 years!! Then, one day, it stops!! And it may have something to do with a baseball game 22 years ago, a foster brother, and Native American mysticism. I didn't talk about this book nearly enough when I reviewed it on 3-12-09. The characters act like real kids, the situation, strange as it is, iis totally believable, the story gets a big hold on you, and there's quite a twist at the end. You'll like it a lot!

And here's my interview with Kurtis Scaletta.

Then we have Lucky: Maris, Mantle and My Best Year Ever by Wes Tooke. I really enjoyed this one and here is what I said about it on 6-10-09:

It's 1961 and young Louis May lives with his father, stepmother, and stepbrother in White Plains, a suburb of New York City. Louis loves baseball and has a huge collection of baseball cards. In fact, he has memrozied all the information and statistics on all those cards. Imagine, then, his surprise when he gets to be a batboy for the Yankees! He gets to be friends with his two heroes, Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris, and watches with anticipation as they try to break Babe Ruth's record for the most home runs in one season. Louis's stepbrother is jealous, however, and seems determine to ruin his life--even attempting a very low trick with Louis's baseball card collection. Will his stepbrother actually win? And do Maris and Mantle get to break the Babe's record? You can find out only by reading this terrific book!

And if you'd like to read my interview with Wes Tooke, click here.

Finally, we have the Sluggers series (some of the books were originally issued as the Barnstormers series) by Phil Bilden and Loren Long. This is still one of my all-time favorites. It would be hard to tell about all of them since there are six in the series but I'll repeat what I wrote about the third book on 4-25-08:

It's about the Payne family; the three kids Griffith, Ruby, Graham and their mom. Where's the father? He didn't come back from the Spanish-American War (the books are set in 1899) The father's friends from the war (they were all in Colonel Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders) formed a baseball team called the Travelin' Nine. They plan to go around the country and play exhibition games in order to raise money for the Payne family, who owes ten thousand dollars! The father left them his baseball, but when the kids put their hands on it, strange things, and I mean really strange things, happen during the games. Could the baseball be magic? And who is this creepy guy called The Chancellor and why does Uncle Owen tell the kids to beware of him? Why does Uncle Owen tell them that they are in very great danger, particularly young Graham? And, whatever they do, don't let the Chancellor know about the ball!!!You got to read these books!!! They'll suck you into the story and make you want to get the next one right away!!

If you want to find out more, click on the "Barnstormers" or "Sluggers" tabs under this post.

OK, guys, the World Series starts this week. Good time to find these books. And be sure to tell us what you think of them. Baseball and book fans are waiting to hear from you!

October's Here and That Means---

---Sports!!!!

Yes, indeed, this is a great time of year because it's the month when the big three of sports converge--football, basketball and baseball. Football has been going on already; in fact, it's one-quarter of the way through the season. We in Charlotte have been watching our beloved Panthers struggle (pleeeaasseee don't get me started on last Sunday's game) but you'll find most of us glued to our sets every time they play. The Charlotte Bobcats start playing this month. OK--if you want to get technical, those are preseason games, but still, it's basketball! And it's hard to believe that, in this month of cool weather and falling leaves, there's still baseball. The World Series will be upon us in about three weeks. Now it seems to me that baseball is always associated with summer and should stop when things turn cold. But, doesn't matter--baseball is still the great iconic American sport. I just love reading about its colorful history and its larger-than-life characters.  Here are a couple of really good books about the early days the official sport of summer.

Ball Park: The Story of America's Baseball Fields
Written and illustrated by Lynn Curlee


You can watch baseball on TV but there's nothing like actually seeing a game in a real ballpark. This fascinating and beautifully-illustrated book gives a history of baseball parks from their very beginning. Find out why each ballpark is unique and why there is no standard way to build them. There's also a lot of interesting things to learn--the history of baseball, when New York was the "capital of baseball," how baseball invented Astroturf, and which pre-WWI ballparks are still around. This is  a very interesting read.


Heroes of Baseball: The Men Who Made It America's Favorite Game by Robert Lipstye

Here's another great book about the history of baseball, full of stories of the giants of the game. And what stories they are! The chapters on Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson Mickey Mantle are terrific in themselves but there's a lot more. Find out why Ty Cobb was one the greatest players ever and why no one liked him,who was A. G. Spalding (and why we still see that name on sports equipment), who was "The Clown Prince of Baseball," which records will never be broken, and what Yogi Berra's real name is! This is one terrific book, guaranteed to keep you turning page after page. If you're a rabid fan or if you've never been to a game, this is one you should NOT pass up! In fact, this book gets--

  The Iron Guy Seal of Approval as One Terrific Book!

That's some of the nonfiction about baseball. I'll write a post soon on baseball fiction and then some books on football and basketball. Stay tuned, sports and reading fans!

A Big Three from Michael!

Life has been busy again for the Iron Guy and the last post I made was before Labor Day!  Wow. Hard to believe it's been that long. I'm busily working on new stuff but, in the meantime, our old friend Michael has come through again with three top-notch reviews. Let's hear him out:

My Wierder School, book 6
Mayor Hubble is in Trouble!
by Dan Gutman
    Mayor Hubble, after the incident in Mr. Burke is Berserk!, has been released from jail and is running for mayor again, believe it or not. Meanwhile, A.J. decides to run against Andrea for president of the third grade at Ella Mentry School. But when Mayor Hubble offers to rig the competition in exchange for A.J.'s promotion of him as next mayor, A.J.'s unsure about the whole thing. Will he accept the mayor's tempting offer, or will he submit to an inevitable loss? This series is definitely getting better, but it could be even better than it is now! I wish it was just a little funnier, and nearly every paragraph has a running gag in it. It's still worth reading though.

The Infinity Ring, book 1
A Mutiny in Time
by James Dashner
    Dak and his friend Sera live in a future America where a force called the SQ rules everything, and the world is going downhill fast. But when the two meet a secret society called the Hystorians, everything changes. Using an infinity-shaped time machine that Dak's parents made, the two, along with a young Hystorian named Riq, go back in time. Their goal is to fix things in history that never should have happened. In this case, it's saving Christopher Columbus from being thrown overboard in a mutiny. But the mutineers don't give up easily... and neither does the SQ. Now, although this book is original, it could be a lot more exciting, and it's obviously a copy of The 39 Clues. There's a blue bar on the front cover that says, "Read the book, follow the guide, play the game". The first page has a quote from the book on it. Book two will be written by a different author. And it's put out by Scholastic! The thing is, now that Cahills Vs. Vespers is declining in popularity, The Infinity Ring will surely take over as the most popular kids' series out there by the time Cahills Vs. Vespers is over. Now, which do I think is better? Personally, I'd stick with Cahills Vs. Vespers. But I'll still keep up with The Infinity Ring.

Reviews coming soon: Cahills Vs. Vespers, book 4: Shatterproof, by Roland Smith---- N.E.R.D.S., book 4: The Villain Virus, by Michael Buckley ----------- Amulet, book 4: Prince of the Elves, by Kazu Kibuishi

Cahills Vs. Vespers, book 4
Shatterproof
by Roland Smith
    Amy, Dan, Jake, and Atticus are at it again when Vesper One tells them to steal the Jubilee Diamond right out of the Pergamon museum. But when things go wrong, the team finds out that the whole thing was a setup. What now? Milos Vanek is hot on their trail. And by hot I mean that he's never more than a few miles away from them. How will they shake him loose? Jonah, Hamilton, and Erasmus are still on Luna Amato's trail. Will she lead them to something valuable? Plus, the hostages attempt an escape. Will it work this time? This is definitely better than book 3 and is worth reading! Look for book 5, Trust No One by Linda Sue Park in November, and the movie series starts in 2014!

Michael Lanier

Pianist, guitarist, banjoist, autoharpist, jaw harpist, Ukeist


Thanks, Michael!! I always look forward to seeing your reviews. Yeah, I agree that The Infinity Ring is definitely a copy of The 39 Clues, so I haven't picked it up. How about YOU--have you checked it out or bought it? Did you like it? Is Michael right and will this be the next 39 Clues? Speaking of which, don't pass up the Cahills vs. Vespers series!! They're every bit as good as the first and possibly better. I  REALLY liked Operation Trinity and hope to review it soon. I checked out Shatterproff last week and can't wait to start it.
Anyway, let us all hear what you're reading and enjoying. If you need any help in figuring out how to send a review, just check the instructions on the left-hand side of the page. So what are you waiting for??? Get those fingers on those keyboards and tell us!!

Fun Stuff for the Labor Day Weekend (More Blasts from the Past)

Hey everyone, it's Iron Guy Carl, blogging at you from the end of summer. Yes, summer's over. It's always a little tough getting back to the grindstone, but, mercifully, the grownups created something to make  reentry less painful.  And that is the Labor Day weekend!! A big three-day weekend to kick up some fun before settling back into the routine. Some guys like to go to the beach over this weekend, some play or watch sports and some like to hang out. But all the readers of this blog like READING. With that in mind, let me give you a few favorite reads from the past. These will be good for those car trips or the times spent chilling out around the homestead. These books are picked randomly but every one of them is great fun for a Labor Day weekend and all of them are guy-proven great reads. (If you want to find out any more about them, click on the tab under this post--for instance, click on the "Alvin Ho" tab if you want to learn more or read reviews)

Any of the Alvin Ho books

Funny, funny, funny!!! The tales of a second-grader who's afraid of everything. Guaranteed to make you hold your sides--because, if you don't, you'll split them laughing!



The Leviathan trilogy by Scott Westerfeld

Walking war machines vs fabricated animals in an alternative history of World War I. Lots of adventure, action and things that blow up.Great reads!

The 39 Clues series

Most of you probably know about these books, but if not---go get one right away!! They pull you in and won't let go!

 How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell

One of the great guy books of all time that asks the question, "Could you eat 15 worms in 15 days?"



The Brixton Brothers mysteries

Mystery, fun, and excitement as Steve Brixton (he has no brother--he just thinks it sounds cool) unravels criminal plots. Besides, where will you find out that all librarians know 9 forms of martial arts?



All right, guys, go out there and have a great weekend. And be sure to tell us what you read (or listened to, if you love audiobooks) when you get back!

The Serpent's Shadow by Rick Riordan

Hey and how-de-do to all you fans of reading! The Iron Guy has been extremely busy lately. Life at the library gears up for summer and, after the big season hit, I went into hyperdrive.You've probably noticed that I haven't posted any of my own reviews for a while and that's because I've been so busy--which is good because that means so many kids are out there reading! (And I really appreciate reader guys like Michael and Sammer and mphuff who have taken up the slack) But, no matter how busy things getI always make time for a Rick Riordan book. I'm a HUGE fan of his stuff and was very excited when The Serpent's Shadow, the third and final volume of The Kane Chronicles series, fell into my eager hands. I finished it during the summer and enjoyed it. A lot of you have probably already read it, but some of you haven't. If you haven't, then pay attention. If you have, write and tell us how YOU liked it.
In case you don't know what these books are about, here's the lowdown--Carter and Sadie Kane are the son and daughter of a famous Egyptologist, who just also happens to be a powerful magician. Through a series of adventures too complicated to relate briefly, Carter and Sadie find themselves as the only two humans to stop Apophhis, the giant Chaos Serpent from rising from his ancient prison and swallow the sun. In this book, they finally discover a way to banish Apophis, but it's a tremendous risky task--they must find his shadow and cast an execration spell right to his face!
This book has all the Rick Riordan trademarks that we guys love so much--the action, the humor, and the vivid and believable otherworldly settings. This story moves right along, keeps your attention, and makes you laugh often along the way. I enjoyed it but, to tell the complete truth, I didn't feel the incredible suspense that I found in all the other Rick Riordan books. This is not a criticism because I enjoyed this book very much; it's just that I knew somehow that the characters would come out all right, even when the had to go face-to-face with Apophis. Maybe it's because I've read so many RR books that I just knew Carter and Sadie would make it.I didn't get that feeling in, for instance, The Last Olympian. There you really felt that Kronos might actually destroy the world and Percy along with it.But don't let me stop you from reading this book--like all of Rick Riordan's books, this is a good read. Maybe some of you have read it and disagree with me. If so, write in and tell me!
I have one mild criticism, though. I love his humor, but there may have been a little too much here. That sounds weird, I know. I enjoyed the insults and the quick quips all through the book but it seemed that Sadie and Carter were always hurling witty insults at each other, even in the most dangerous moments. it got a bit annoying. BUT--criticizing Rick Riordan is like critiqueing Michael Jordan. Or Babe Ruth. Or the Beatles. Rick Riordan is still one of the giants of guy writing and I cannot wait until The Mark of Athena, the final book in the Heroes of Olympus trilogy. (PS--you can read the first chapter here!)